Spying
by daul52
Summary: When Ron catches Viktor proposing to Hermione, what will he do? R/Hr all the way!


Disclaimer: JKR owns almost everything...

~Spying~

* * *

Well, look at that. He finally got her alone, or so he thinks. He's got her all buttered up in his arms, telling her stupid jokes that don't even make sense. I don't know why he picked her for a date. I mean, yeah, she's gorgeous, nice, intelligent, patient… Okay, so maybe I do know why, but still, I thought I was the only one who thought that. It didn't help that she looked stunning tonight, with that rose-colored dress that fit her perfectly, and her hair and makeup done just so, that not even Fleur could compete with her. Not that she could before, but I'm just saying…

"Viktor!" she giggled, her eyes glittering, just like the stars above them. She gazed up at him, and honestly, I don't know what she saw there. Whatever it was, it made her happy, and who was I to stand in the way of my best friend's happiness?

_You're Ron, and you will fight to keep her._ Whoa, where did that thought come from? Besides, I've never had her in the first place…

_Go on, tell her_. Psh, no, I'd make a bloody fool of myself. Instead, I would hide behind this corner, and watch the couple on the terrace, no matter how much I wanted to jump up and separate them.

All of a sudden, his animated face became sober. I groaned to myself. The next thing he said was going to shatter my world, how much d'you want to bet?

I was so engrossed in my thoughts (yes, I used a big word—I'm not completely stupid, much to popular surprise) that all I heard was, "…marry me?"

I didn't think. I just acted. And act, I did.

"_NO!_" I shouted vehemently, popping out from my hiding place. The two jumped apart, to my unconscious delight.

"Ron!" she gasped, eyes wide. She blinked a few times, trying to hide her shock. It was so cute, the way she tried to conceal anything that surprised her…Why am I thinking about that? No, I need to say something, anything—

"Veasly?" Viktor asked, acid pouring like a waterfall in that one word. I tilted my chin upwards, to let him know that if someone was going to back down, it wasn't going to be me. Not this time.

"Ron!" she repeated, attempting to gain my attention. I held up a finger, to suggest that I wanted a minute, and she got a bit put out. But she was silent, and I faced the studly Quidditch athlete.

"No," I said again, more calmly this time, but still furious. "You can't marry her. Bloody hell, I haven't even told her—" Here I stopped, and I could feel my ears getting red. Krum raised an eyebrow at me, and asked, "Told her vat?"

I turned to her. "I haven't even told her that I love her," I finished, staring into her brown, coffee-colored eyes. Her eyes grew wide once more, and I could sense that I was about to forget what I had come here to do. I cleared my throat, and said, "I do. Ever since…It's been a while," I improvised. "Anyhow, I never got to tell you, and I'll be damned if I let anyone steal you away before I bloody even _tell_ you!" I had turned to Krum as I spoke, and I watched as he turned crimson. Y'know, with that nose of his, he bloody well resembles a ruffled hawk. It's kind of humorous. Not that this is any time to be funny.

"You haf ruined my propozal," he fumed, "and for vat? A declaration of _love_? Iz it not obviouz that she does not return your feelingz?" He laughed. Well, more like barked, but it didn't matter to me. I faced the object of my affections and found her staring at me.

"She doesn't need to love me back," I murmured, meeting her gaze. I would've brought my hand up to her face to caress her cheek, but something told me I'd lose my hand for that, but not by her. "All she needs is to know that she has options other than you. So she doesn't have to tie herself down to you the bloody moment you ask." My eyes were ensnared in hers, and I didn't see where Viktor had moved to. All I knew was that, when I turned back to him, he had disappeared. To where, I'll never know.

I felt soft fingers below my chin, beckoning me to turn back to the lovely person to which they belonged. I obliged, and, before her hand could slip away, captured it within my own. She smiled, somewhat awkwardly, and said, "He probably won't come back, you know."

I returned simply, "Good for him. I don't bloody care." I tugged on her hand, pulling her closer to me. She gasped, and I used my other hand to incline her chin and lowered my lips to hers.

It was…bliss. I imagined that that was what heaven feels like. I closed my eyes and gently moved my mouth over hers, angling my head just a little bit to get closer. I let go of her hands, only to wrap my arms tight around her. I hazily registered that her arms were now around my neck, and, unbelievably, she was kissing me back. So scratch what I said before. _This_ is heaven.

And as much as I wanted to go on, I needed to breathe.

I pulled back, not letting her go, and caught my breath (what breath I had left) at what I saw. Her eyes were still closed, her face was gloriously flushed. She opened her eyes, and stared in awe at me. I smiled down at her, and softly pecked her lips. I got serious though, and she must have sensed it. Bloody hell, smart as she was, it was a wonder she couldn't read minds, even though it seemed like she could. At least, to me it did.

Anyways, she moved one of her arms from my neck and placed a finger over my mouth. She smiled, and said, "Don't ruin this by talking."

In my defense, I didn't talk. Nope, I laughed instead, and she laughed along with me. I was so happy. When we calmed ourselves down, she sighed, and took away her other arm. I was about to let mine drop when she hugged me again, cuddling in closer to me. I fastened my arms more firmly around her small body (Merlin, it didn't seem like she_ ever_ ate) and rested my head atop her massive amount of hair. I didn't mind it, no matter what I ever said about it; it was a part of her, a part of my precious Hermione.

"You were wrong, you know," she mumbled into my shirt. I halfheartedly replied, "About what?" I was too immersed in joy to really think about what she was saying.

"About my options. I really don't have any, Ron."

I immediately lifted my head and stared down at her. I tried to comprehend what she was saying, that our kiss had meant nothing? I was too late anyways?

"Ron!" she whispered sharply, catching my attention yet again. I don't know what she saw on my face, but it must've been funnier than hell, cuz she was giggling again. And damn, why did she have to look so cute when she was laughing?

"Oh, Ron," she sighed, finished with her laughter. "You don't understand!"

"Of course I do," I muttered, dropping my arms. "I came too late. You love him." I pushed away from her, and turned around. Bloody hell, my eyes were getting watery.

"Ron!" I felt her hand grasp my arm and shook it off, trying to get away from her. "Ron, listen!"

I stopped and turned around at the fervor in her voice. It was dark anyways, she couldn't see my face. "What?" I asked harshly.

"When I said I had no options, I meant I have no options but you."

Whoa, whoa, whoa. Rewind.

She must've seen my confusion, because she explained further. "I don't know how in the name of Merlin I hid it so well from you and Harry, but I did. I'm quite in love with you, Ronald Weasley. I have been for some time now." She beamed at me, but I couldn't muster a reply. She…she loved me? But…

"Krum?" I inquired. She waved her hand in a passive motion. "I won't say that I didn't try to hide from it. So when Viktor took an interest in me, well, I figured that since you were so happy with Lavender…It couldn't hurt to try to be with someone else, right?

"Though for a while, it did," she went on, her story pouring out of her as I stood before her in astonishment at all she was admitting. "It felt so…_wrong_, because my heart screamed that it wasn't you. In my head, it stated that you obviously didn't want me as more than a friend, so why should I want to be more? I should just move on…

"Then Viktor came along, and so I thought, _now's my chance to try to get over Ron_. He was very likeable. Strong, pleasant to be around…but he wasn't exactly what I wanted. I had decided to stick it out, though, however long it lasted. I had no idea that he wanted forever…but even so, I couldn't have said yes," she finished, shrugging. I put my hands on her upper arms and gripped her tightly.

"Why not?" I demanded.

She looked up at me, and her eyes, her beautiful, melted-chocolate eyes, made me want to just lose myself in them. I fought to keep a clear head as she responded, "There was no way I could have been in a relationship like that without love. I wasn't going to put him through that, knowing that I didn't love him. I couldn't wake up every morning to see his face, and wanting so desperately for it to be yours." Sincerity dripped from every word coming from her lips. She looked at me funny, and reached a hand up to my face where tears were streaming down. "Ron, are you okay? What did I—"

She didn't get to finish her question, as I had covered her lips with mine, and was kissing her in a way that showed her exactly how "okay" I was. I ran my fingers through her hair, holding her close with my other arm. _Hermione_. I never wanted it to end. All there was in my world was her. She was the sun, the moon, and everything in between. _Hermione, I love you_.

This time, she pushed away. "So, I told you about Viktor," she said once she had composed herself, "what about Lavender?"

I got solemn, as I pondered her question. "I'm not proud of this," I warned her, "but I, um…well, you see…I kinda…"

"Just spit it out," she advised, simply.

"I wanted to make you jealous," I confessed sheepishly, blushing. "She was into me, and you weren't, no matter how much I wanted you to be. So I thought that, well, maybe if I made you jealous, you would try to be with me. When it backfired, I just pretended that _she_ was _you_. That instead of snogging Lavender Brown, I was snogging Hermione Granger. And then, when even _that_ backfired, when you were gone…It bloody near killed me. When I woke up in that hospital, and you were there…I realized that I couldn't pretend anymore. She _wasn't_ you, and that made all the difference.

"So I ended it, hoping that maybe you would come around and see why," he concluded. "Then…well, you know the rest from there."

I concentrated on the tips of my toes, hoping like hell that she couldn't see the crimson color of my face. I heard her sigh, and looked up at her. As soon as I could see her face, she ran at me, full speed ahead. For a moment, I thought she was going to attack me, like she had with those bloody birds. But when her arms locked around my neck and she sealed her mouth to mine…I thought I would go crazy. I clasped my arms around her and lifted her up off the floor, spinning her in circles.

When we were both in trouble of passing out from no air and sheer happiness, I put her back down on the floor. She kept her arms around me, but just cuddled close, tucking her head beneath my chin. I left my arms wrapped around her, and held her securely up against myself.

"Perhaps we should get back to the dance?" she suggested. "Harry and Ginny will be wondering about us, no doubt."

"Let them wonder," I said, dropping a kiss on the top of her head. "They probably don't even notice the rest of the world." As I said this, I suddenly got a vision of Harry snogging my sister, and it…didn't really bother me. He had found love.

And so had I.


End file.
